Thermostatic control for internal combustion engines



Jan. 31, 1933. H. BLOOD 1,895,534

THERMOSTATIC CONTROL FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Jan. 2, 1929 INVENTO? h. L. BLOOD Patented Jan. 31, 1933 HAROLD LANGLEY BLOOD, OF HINSDALE, ILLINOIS THEBMOST ATIC CONTROL FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES 9 Application filed January 2, 1929. Serial No. 329,884.

This invention relates to the thermostatic control of internal combustion engines.

It is usually found necessary during cold weather to adjust automobile carburetors to give a mixture of fuel and air considerably richer than is required in warm weather. However, it is well known that if provision is made for altering the adjustment after the engine has reached a normal temperature the mixture may then be made practically as lean in cold weather as in warm weather.

Thermosensitive means have been proposed for automatically adjusting the carburetor to suit the temperature of the engine, but

these means have been open tocertain objections. For instance, they have been complex, bulky or have been responsive to the heat of the exhaust and have consequently acted to adjust the carburetor to give a lean 2o mixture before the cylinders, surrounded by cooling fluid, have reached a normal operating temperature.

The object of this invention is to provide a single thermosensitive means, free from the objections just mentioned, which will regulate both the richness of the mixture and the flow of the cooling fluid. The same thermosensitive means may also be utilized to regulate the temperature of the mixture of fuel and air.

In the accompanying drawing:

.Fig. 1 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a portion of an internal combustion engine to which my invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section of certain of the parts.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative form of thermosensitive valve, in vertical section.

Fig. 4: is a plan view of the valve shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a well known form of thermosensitive element,

1, consisting of a circumferentially corrugat ed, longitudinally-expansible cylindrical receptacle containing a volatile fluid. To the upper end of this cylinder is attached a valve, 2, seating against the top of cup 3, in the 30 bottom of which'are holes 4 through which .ment of the lever tends to open .the needle cooling fluid may flow from the cylinder head 5. Attached to the cylinder head 5 is a housing 6, connected to the top of the radiator 7 by tube 8 and enclosing the thermo-. sensitive element and valve. Attached to the top of housing 6 by means of nut 9 is a tube 10 which curves upward above the level of the cooling fluid in the radiator and extends downward nearly to the carburetor 11. A hole 12 is provided in tube 10 near its highest point to prevent the formation of a vacuum inside the tube and to make it impossible for the tube to act as a siphon. i

Running through tube 10 is a wire 13, one 5 end of which is fastened to valve 2 by means of screw 14. Near the other end of wire 13 are fastened collars15 and 16. Collar 15 is provided with a stem 17 (see Fig. 2) which fits a hole in lever 18. Lever 18 is pinned to shaft 19, to which is fastened a swinging valve 20 that is in the exhaust pipe. Valve 20, when swung to the. left, permits the exhaust gases to pass directly from the exhaust manifold 21 to the passage 22 which communicates with the exhaust pipe; When valve 20 is swung to the right it closes passage 22 and deflects the exhaust gases into chamber 23 surrounding part of the intake manifold 24. The gases then escape through. passage 25 which also leads tothe exhaust pipe.

Collar 16, at the lower end of wire 13, is arranged to lift one end of lever 26 when the 5 wire is pulled upward, the amount ofthe 35 lift being adjustable by varying the height of collar 16 on wire 13. Lever 26 is fulcrumed at 27 and is connected to needle valve 28 in any desired manner so that an upward movevalve and increase the flow of fuel in the carburetor. For example, I have shown lever 26 fastened by means of loosely fittedpin 29 to a nut 30 which carries the-needle valve 28 and is free to slide vertically in the carbure-' tor. The needle valve may be adjusted by turning it in the nut. v The needle valve 28 may be the main needle valve or an auxiliary valve, depending upon the design of the carburetor.

In Figure 3 is shown another well known form of thermostatic valve which may be employed in place of the one previously described. A thermosensitive metal coil 31 is connected by means of arm 32 and link 33 to valve 34 in such a way as to open the valve by swinging it clockwise about pin 35 upon an increase in the temperature of the cooling fluid. Wire 13 is attached to valve 34 by means shown in Fig. 4, consisting of a pin 36 into which the wire is clamped by screw 37, and side plates 38 fastened to the valve and through which the pin passes.

In operation, the thermostatic valve is closed while the engine is cold; valve IS in its right hand position and diverts the exhaust gases around the inlet manifold, and

needle valve 28is open sufficiently to produce a rich mixture for starting. After a running temperature is reached the thermostatic valve opens and allows the cooling fluid to circulate. The opening of this valve swings valve 20 to its left hand position, allowing the exhaust gases to escape without passing around-the inlet manifold, and partially closes the needle valve.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a thermosensitive valve adapted to regulate the flow of cooling fluid in an internal combus:

- tion engine, a housing for said valve, a carburetor, means for regulating said carburetor,

a tube extending upwardly from the housing to a point above the level of the cooling fluid, and a wire guided by said tube, said wire connecting the regulating means for the carburetor and the movable portion of said valve.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a

.heat-responsive device adapted to be surrounded by the cooling fluid of an internal combustion engine, a valve operated by said heat-responsive device, a casing for said heatresponsive device, an operative connection between said valve and a needle valve in the carburetor of said engine, and a tubular guide for said connection.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a valve for regulating the flow of cooling fluid in connection with-an internal combustion engine, a needle valve for a carburetor, a wire connecting said valves, a tube surrounding and guiding said wire through most of its course, a casing surrounding the first named valve through which the cooling water flows,

leading said gases adjacent the carburetor,

and a valve to control the division of gases between these two conduits, the said valve being connected to the said wire connecting the cooling water valve and the needle valve. 5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with an internal combustion engine, a carburetor for said engine, a needle valve for regulating said carburetor, a radiator for the cooling water, water jackets for the cylinders of the engine, and an overhead conduit connecting said radiator and said jackets, of a valve in said conduit to regulate the flow of cooling water, a casing surrounding said valve, a thermosensitive element inside the casing to operate said valve, a wire connecting said valve directly to the needle valve, and a tube surrounding said wire, said tube passing above the upper level of the radiator, thus causing said water regulating valve and said needle valve to move in unison, the connectionbeing established directly without any stufling box. 6. In apparatus as claimed in claim 5, the combination with the parts as therein specified, of a vent substantially in the highest point of the said tube to prevent siphoning.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a single thermo-responsive means, a cooling fluid regulating valve conn'ected thereto, a carburetor needle valve connected thereto and means for regulating the temperature of the fuel mixture connected thereto for simultaneously regulating the flow of the cooling fluid, the richness of the fuel mixture and the temperature of the fuel mixture.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this fourth day of December A. D.,

HAROLD LANGLEY BLOOD. 

